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Blessed Be

Poet/Lyricist:

Robin Morgan

I was honored to be commissioned a second time by Anna Crusis Women's Choir (Philadelphia) to compose a work to their 40th Anniversary season. Founded in 1975 ,"Anna" is the oldest exisiting feminist choir in the United States and an early member of the GALA chorus network. To celebrate and commemorate Anna's ground breaking choral history, I selected an iconic text by Robyn Morgan, considered one of the founders of contemporary feminism, and author of over twenty books, including the now-classic feminist anthology, "Sisterhood is Powerful."

"Blessed Be" dares invoke the sacred while proclaiming a woman's innate right to manifest her own path. The words "blessed be" are sung three times as a refrain to each line of the empowering litany. The triad, or "3-ness", has a universal significance as a symbol of the unity of spirit, mind and body, all of which are celebrated in the text.

Blessed be my brain that I may conceive of my own power. Blessed be my breast that I may give sustenance to those I love. Blessed be my womb that I may choose to create what I choose to create. Blessed be my knees that I may bend so as not to break Blessed be my feet that I may walk the path of my highest will.

excerpted from 'The Network of the Imaginary Mother' as collected in Upstairsin the Garden: Selected and New Poems, by Robin Morgan. Copyright 1976,1990, by Robin Morgan. All Rights Reserved